So far, this has been my favorite week of study in the MSLD program when it comes to the content. The focus this week was on "power and influence". There is no firm source of the power that we exert over others. There is no set level of influence that we have. It is all subjective but it is important for us to at least have a broad understand of the relationship between power and influence and how we can properly leverage both. Power and influence are very closely linked. Yukl (2013, p. 186) defines power as "the capacity of one party (the "agent") in influence another party (the "target")." Though they are very closely related, that doesn't mean that power is influence. If you read that statement again, you will see that power is the capacity to influence. In other words, power is the actual ability. Influence, then, is the actual act of helping another (a target) reach a decision.
Power can come from multiple sources. Again, remember that power is just the capacity to influence another. It isn't the actual act of influencing. There are two main types of power. First, you have position power which "includes potential influence derived from legitimate authority, control over resources and rewards, control over punishments, control over information, and control over the physical work environment" (Yukl, 2013, p. 193.). This is something that we encounter on a daily basis in the military. The military is set up with a hierarchical structure. Regardless of the level of personal relationships established, those that are above us in the hierarchical structure do exert power over us. They have the ability to influence us simply by their position even if we have never established a personal relationship with them. The other main source of power is personal power which "includes potential influence derived from task expertise, and potential influence based on friendship and loyalty (Yukl, 2013, p. 193). Notice the difference between the two. The position power is based on status. The personal power is based on a relationship. That isn't to say that one is more effective than the other. They are just different. Position power relies on status to influence others. Personal power relies on relationships to exert power.
Personally, I am professionally in a position where I do not have much position power. Though there are those in my work center that I outrank, we are all pretty much equal. I am in a unique work environment where everybody is a seasoned professional. There are no "new" Soldiers here. Therefore, I have to rely on personal power to influence others. I am not in a position to exercise either reward or coercive power. Most of the influence that I need to exercise seems to be up the chain anyway. Therefore, I have three main sources of power. First, I am able to use expert power. That is the ability to influence others by possessing unique knowledge and being an expert in my field (Yukl, 2013). As an Army recruiter, I have to use a lot of the interpersonal skills that I have developed over the course of my life. When we have an applicant that is unsure, I have a very unique ability of convincing them that enlisting in the Army is the correct decision. Though that is related to influence, it isn't the point that I am trying to make. The fact that I have the silver tongue and am an expert "salesman" puts me in a position where I can actually exercise expert power over my peers and my superiors. My managers know that I have the specialized ability so it helps me influence them. Often this results in my ability to adjust the duty schedule to fit my needs. My next source of power is also very closely related. I have the ability to exert information power. Though I don't directly control the actual information, I have the ability to communicate with others in my unit. One of my strong points is networking. I do not understand why people are hesitant or afraid to communicate but it often falls on me to control the flow of information. This gives me direct access to higher levels of management and leadership and the ability to develop personal relationships with those leaders. My final and most effective source of power is referent power. This is "derived from the desire of others to please an agent toward whom they have strong feelings of affection, admiration, and loyalty" (Yukl, 2013, p. 190). I personally feel that this is my strongest source of power in my work center. We take a lot of pride in our camaraderie. We respect one another. We are loyal to one another. We treat one another as family. Therefore, we all are able to influence one another simply from loyalty and respect.
Currently, due to the nature of my work, I realize that I do have very limited position power but I do understand and respect the position power of those over me. As I have already stated, we all do have referent power, though. But I know that this will not always be the case. Eventually, I will promote and I will have position power again. In the meantime, I want to respect the power of those over me. I want them to respect my sources of power as well, though. I already alluded to the fact that I can use the power that I do have to control things such as schedules and even, to a limited extent, assignments. I want to be very careful to never abuse my power, though. My opinion is that when power is abused, it is lost. We have a duty to be good stewards of the power that we do have.
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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